A Capture Swing
by Mag8889
Summary: The Asset gets interrupted by... sensations, thoughts and a group of men. Who are they? This story was directly inspired by my dream, where I got to experience described story in the first person perspective! Yes, I was the Winter soldier in my dream. The dream happened thanks to reading other, great fanfics!
1. 1985

He was… here. He looked up at a light-greyish and slightly porous surface above his head. A strange construction of an apartment building... Where was he? He squinted, feeling as his body achieved a momentum. His feet were an inch or two above the pavement. Gentle air swirls played with strands of his hair. Sharp light of the building entrance a few meters in front of him.

Disorientation slowly flexed into a quite pleasurable sensation of gliding. His grappling hook was stuck above, maybe high above, in the fancy, marble-ish wall. A wall? Of an apartment he just left… but why?

He took another swing. Everything was good, he felt free. It was nice. He just has to… stay here. Taste the fresh air of very late evening. It was getting dark, all around...

Voices. He heard voices of women. Two women coming down from the building. Talking loud and excited. Coming right to the door he could see well lit in the wall to his right. A pleasant feeling faded, covered by something… Hide. Hide now, soldier.

Immediately, he let go a thin, metallic rope. Standing on his feet, in heavy black boots, he tore it apart from his belt where the mechanism was mounted.

They are about to come out. Hide.

As he stood, he leaped backwards into the darkest corner. Perfectly soundless. How did he know there was a corner here? He couldn't recall. He froze, he stopped breathing. Observing the situation, he saw two women casually opening the door, still busy with conversation. One had very short hair, the other one, long curls.

Curls…

He followed them with his cold eyes, until they reached a parking lot to the far left. Never noticed anything…. Now he could-

Another woman appeared from the close left. His eyes widened and he almost jerked. She was standing closer than a meter from him. She was completely quiet, just like him. How he didn't hear her?! He wanted to cover more in the shadow, but she just kept on staring. She saw him. Someone behind her. She smirked.

The soldier leaped upwards, his knife ready in the right hand. Crushing grip ready in the left arm.

A pinch in his back, then another. He stopped in the middle of his calculated attack.

Clink! The blade hit the ground.

His feet indecisive. He couldn't feel… his right arm. He took a wheezing breath, muffled by his war mask and made a few steps forward. Or he thought so. A few very quiet sounds behind his back. A growing feeling of numbness. A feeling of… rapture. The horizon moved down.

„I told you, gentlemen. He may be stopped." A very distinctive voice above him. Woman's voice.

He was lying on the pavement. He never noticed going down. But his body kind of drifted. The world felt light… His muscles were free… His eyes wanted to close. So he put his will in keeping them open, two narrowed observation points. Eyelids slightly down.

A sensation of relax kept on filling his brain and body. He was almost paralyzed.

He heard a car, a van driving by. Sliding door opened. They didn't care to be unnoticed. He saw a group of men in coats, six to eight men surrounding him and looking down. But there was more people around.

Their faces partially covered in the twilight. He kept on observing. Felt almost nothing.

„That's the Asset. Alive and ready to become fully operational." Explained some other voice, as the men continued to evaluate him with their looks. He knew that. He knew these looks too well.

General, generals used to do that… What generals?

„So that's the famous, or rather, infamous Asset, huh? He's not as tough as I thought." Noticed one man. He sounded… arrogant. A few other figures giggled. His brows furrowed a bit.

This wasn't HYDRA! They didn't … smell like HYDRA.

"Gentleman, I assure you, it was extremely difficult to find a way to get him. The dosage of sedative we used could kill an elephant. And as you can see, he still stays partially conscious. The gas we first used to disorient him is highly volatile." Said heavy accent.

"And illegal." Added the woman.

"Yeah, but how can we know that's really him?" Said more harsh voice.

Alcohol and cigarettes. This one smelled like these.

"You received all the proof and signed the contact. Please. We have very little time. His programming will soon trigger and order to get to a pick-up point. He has to be restrained."

His brain started lighting up, even though the rest of the body was resting with pleasure. Not HYDRA! An enemy organization trying to take over the Asset!

"Highly improbable, soldier! But in any case, you are obliged to infiltrate (optional) and destroy any organization that may try to get you! If everything fails, you are to self destruct… But I'd really be sorry. Such a smart boy like yourself." A voice in his head, a lively voice of an older man… Who was he?

Waking up from a trance, he looked back up at his enemies.

"-I just want to see what's under that mask." Said a man closing in to his left.

"Sir, that's not a part of the deal." Replied slightly irritated woman. "Our men will take care of that! He has to be handled with-"

Grasp.

His left, silver arm moved faster than a thought. A man's wrist stuck in a crushing vice of metal clench.

The asset was breathing faster, still motionless on the ground, but his eyes lit up, piercing a face nearby.

"Sir, please don't move!" An irrelevant warning.

The sneaky man in a coat. You're not HYDRA…

He could see his face now. He examined it with primal curiosity. Face twisted with pain and dread. Eyes and cheeks growing red. Sweat forming on the forehead. He could smell his fear.

What to do now? He could not move… But he could still hold the left grip.

"Do something!" Mumbled the trapped man. "It's like a fucking vice..."

The Asset tightened his grip. The man moaned. They both felt the sweet moment just before the bones would start crushing. He kept on looking into the eyes of the enemy. He felt satisfaction.

"He's gonna kill me!"

He heard a few orders given in some language… Swedish? German? A prick in his neck. It hurt this time. A wave of dizziness reached his mind immediately.

Contact with prosthetic arm lost.

His eyes turned upward while closing. His breath shallow.

"Dummköpfe..." Quiet words left the lips under a muzzle.

Maybe no one heard it, maybe the man that tried to touch his face.

"We're not taking more responsibility for such actions!" The woman kept on talking among the noise and shuffle. He felt as if being lifted. A car engine starting.

"The contract is clear. The additional dose of sedative can give him a coma. But that's now on your end!"


	2. The Same, Eventful Night

A breath...  
The sensation of novelty in the air.  
Bright lights tried to break through heavy and slightly swollen eyelids. He took another conscious breath, suppressing it as much as he could. They shouldn't know he woke up. Keeping his eyes closed, he reached out with all the other senses. Lying on his back. A steady shaking of a car. Voices in the background. He was left without a guard?  
He was still in that van... Maybe? His body felt lighter just because they took away all the weapons and the armor. Even the three hidden blades and the last-resort spike in his boot. His body knew exactly what was missing on its surface. It almost cried.  
Effects of drugs reduced to 25%. Limbs control minimal. Goddamit... Prosthetic arm... 45% mobility. He was unhappy. Destroying this vehicle and everyone in it was not an option. Infiltration was risky. After all, they were able to capture the Asset.  
The Asset... is unstoppable.  
"You are the last person they will see. If they see you! You are the first and the last thing to be feared of. HYDRA is your honor." He recalled.  
A very faint glimpse of pain. He squinted involuntary.  
Soldier, stay motionless. Listen.  
"... and then he just grabbed my wrist! Like a fucking robot!" Excited voice of the smelly man.  
"Are you a total idiot, Chris?!" Said a male voice, distorted by a radio transmission.  
They're not trying to hide anything from you... Amateurs... "I wish I could've been there... I told you we are not playing with some high-tech toys this time... He's a REAL human, and a damn sneaky one. This is a very delicate thing... He is priceless. And we are very, verrry lucky... so far." Continued a person somewhere on the other end of the broadcast.  
"I am not touching this freak with a stick until you use your magic on him..."  
Potential threat detected.  
"You're lucky he just didn't- Well, let's stay focused. Make sure again he's restrained well... Keep the drugs ready."  
The soldier gasped quietly. He applied a minimal (and only available) tension to his writs and legs. Yes, he was restrained. Possibly metal. Metal clamps... Another clamp at his waist. All about inch wide. It felt so familiar. Something turned in his stomach.  
"...and one more thing. Is he able to hear us right now?"  
"Um... we are on the speaker, if it's what you're asking about..." Replied suddenly concerned voice.  
"Maybe just free him and ask to have a fucking truth or dare now?! Fucking civilians!" The military man's voice spit out a mix of orders and curses.  
The Asset almost smirked. Civilians...  
"Over and out!"  
Stay motionless.  
One man approached him. The vehicle they were in made a sudden turn to the right. The cautious person seemed to be examining his state. He was standing close enough. He was holding a gun. A faint smell of sweat and metal pinching his nose. His mind.  
Amazing, it felt amazing... Being blinded and sensing the world-  
Stay conscious, soldier!  
"Is he even alive?" Said the cigarette man loosely.  
"He's breathing, that's for sure. The clamps are where they were... Hey, is he saying something?"  
Proximity detected. Diversion ready.  
"What should we even watch out for now? I mean, he's pale and stiff, drugged up to his eyeballs! Maybe he has a metal arm but have you ever believed Steven's stories about- AAAAAAAAARGHHH!"  
The civilian man tried to wiggle out of the steel grab of Asset's teeth. The driver shouted and hit the breaks. The van halted abruptly. The soldier helped himself with the momentum and didn't let go until an ear tore, leaving a sweet gush of blood on his tongue.  
The driver jumped close to him with a metal bat. A hit on his temple meant nothing. The taste of blood gave him pleasant chills. He could see all the fear and chaos of this action. A soldier on the radio trying to give them orders. The driver tried to stick a needle in his neck. Still holding a bat. The Asset avoided both and made a forward movement, bearing his teeth.  
"Oh god.. Oh god!" Whimpered the guy squeezing bleeding side of his head.  
The stinky man froze with terror on his face. Good.  
The Asset spit more blood and jerked his left arm. Servomechanisms hummed with effort. He clenched his teeth and pulled up again. A dent. And again! Metal squeaked while cracking. It all happened in a second.  
He reached for the neck of the non-civilian driver. The man was still holding the needle. The Asset sent him an indifferent look and threw onto the wall of the van. Vehicle's door opened when a limp body landed next to these two suckers. He broke the clamp on his right wrist and stretched to grab an Uzi dropped nearby. He should have thought about a weapon earlier. He was lucky!  
Two military men showed up first, easy targets. After the first round, the movement stopped. He grabbed the restrain on his waist. It was harder. The prosthetic arm required more strength - the emergency battery gave him unpleasant prick in the nerve. He managed to lever the metal and finally it let go with a nice clang. He sent another short round towards the door and the windshield. Shouts and slight turmoil. A few vehicles around. But probably not many people with military training. Unusual. He started calculating his chances while breaking apart the last two clamps.  
"D-don't kill me..." Muttered the cigarette man.  
Level threat minimal.  
"That wasn't my idea... I-I didn't know..." He was almost rolled in a ball, trying to hide inside the van's wall. "J-just don't... Please!"  
The Asset sent him an emotionless look. Blood splattered across his chin and cheeks. His blue eyes like two mirrors. They flickered a bit when he realized that he was left in his underwear only. All the gear was taken. Bastards.  
"You do all I say." He said calmly while landing quietly next to the terrified man. He clutched the shaky arm and lifted his hostage like a puppet.


	3. The Next One

The cigarette man barely managed to remember how to drive, when that embodiment of a force of nature sat him by the wheel. He heard shots and a few grunts behind his back. He didn't dare to turn his head. The Asset showed next to him like a ghost, tore out something under the dashboard. After two seconds the car started.

„Drive. Straight. Lights off!" Ordered the soldier. His voice sounded so… harsh and mighty.

He disappeared to the back again when Steve managed to force his shaky body to obey. The lights inside of the van exploded. The outside became more visible.

The other five vehicles were parked more or less in a circle around them. Their lights were flickering, or maybe that was a consequence of a shock. The new driver stayed praying that no one would try to shoot him, thinking that the Asset took the wheel. ( ;) )

A few bullets hit the sides with unpleasant, metallic clinks.

"Jesus!" Moaned the driver. He hoped that the Asset fell out. "They don't care anymore about their investment?!"

"Faster. Drive to avoid collision with them until you can't."

BANG!

Startled and terrified civilian squinted. A horrible ringing in his right ear almost made him hit a car closing in on them. Inside of a black Mercedes he saw a blink of an angry face. One of the "shareholders". His mercenary was dead.

The soldier crouched next to him, where the other chair used to be.

"I just saved your life." Said the Asset with dry voice.

Steve couldn't overcome the shock, he just gasped, frantically focusing on his way.

"Drive and you'll be safe, Steve. You want to be safe." This was just too much. Words like that from a man who bit off an ear and tossed another guy like a doll. With one arm… A man who breaks metal like glass. While wearing only his underwear.

The driver hoped that his friend is still alive, passed out somewhere on the floor. But the soldier cared only about the driver.

Where were they now? Quite close to the complex, it seemed! A place like million others, a plain near a forest, with some nameless dirt road.

"Sharp left!" The soldier blasted from his side. Steve listened. He held on, as the battered van almost lost its traction. The ground was slightly muddy. Another shot. Steve stopped thinking about it. A small cloud of dust flew into the car. He coughed but focused on speeding up even more. This babe had some hidden power in its engine!

He heard the sliding door opening and a long burst of shots. A car hitting another car. He checked a side mirror. Two jeeps crashing into each other.

He saw a clearing between the trees. Now harder to see in the dusk. But there was a suggestion of lights on the other side.

Steve couldn't see or hear any more cars too close. They passed the clearing in a full speed.

"Who are you?" Asset's voice froze his heart.

"I-I… I'm just a fool who agreed to take part in this circus!"

Silence. The van kept on going.

"I stopped or damaged all five cars. Slow down a bit. Stop when I tell you."

"O-Okay..."

Then they heard a helicopter.

The Asset raised his head like a dog sensing a prey.

"Holy Mother of God..." Muttered Steve, realizing again what kind of shit he stepped into.

He looked up. The chopper's searchlights were relentless.

"Look… I don't know what you did… But I just... I should've never listen to my military buddy with connections! Am I dead already?! Who do you work for?!" The driver lashed out and turned. And froze.

The Asset was sitting on the floor. Next to the other two bodies. Blood smears barely visible in the twilight. Steven could sense that something was wrong.

"Hey… You!" He asked with shaky voice.

Awful hum of the machine in the sky seemed to be moving away. For now. He swallowed and directed the car into the thickest greenery he could still see. They gained a little bit of camouflage.

"Soldier..."

He got up and slowly walked to the door. Glass and debris quietly crunching under his boots, but the Asset never moved. Was he even breathing?

Trying not to breath, Steve reached for a lost gun lying the closest. He wouldn't dare to get closer to the Asset. His hands were still a bit shaky and knees felt like fiberglass, but that seemed to be his only chance. He slid the door and steeped into the cool and fresh air of the night.

He would start a run… but then a thought hit him. Without his dear military buddy at his side, the rest of the guys might as well kick his ass. He sent a look of dread at the helicopter in the distance. It had this strange shape…. He squinted. On the black, metallic surface, he could barely notice a symbol.

His mouth opened.

That wasn't THEIR symbol.


	4. A Trace

A sudden noise in his mind made him twitch. He heard a man's gasp but was too weak to react. He felt glass and debris on the floor itching his bottom and legs. Lack of a right outfit was just a minor problem though. One cold and one hot body touching his thigh. Barrel of the Uzi stuck under his right buttock.

And a presence of that man, up close!

„Hey… Asset!" A trembling voice was calling him.

„Steve..." He murmured a reply.

His mind swirled, as if it tried to hold on some… memory…

„Oh God… You're alive...We have to get out of here!" Continued _Steve._

He still smelled of cigarettes and sweat. Not like… usually.

A sound of helicopter in the distance woke him up from a trance. He opened his eyes and stood. Steve moved back immediately. He could see his contour in the dark.

„Listen! I'm practically blind now! I'm just a rich kid, but I'm not that stupid! You almost broke my wrist and that's nothing. You got rid of all the mercenaries!" He paused and took a breath. Soldier was silent. „They want us! Especially you! There is a chopper there, with a symbol on it that I've never seen before… I'm shitting my pants now… but I give up! I'll help you as much as I can. Alone I'm dead anyways! Please, help me!" He almost chocked on the last words.

The soldier followed the gun being put down on the round in a gesture of surrender.

„You want to be safe." Replied the Asset emotionless.

„Y-yes..." Mumbled Steve with desperate hope in his voice. „Yes! I want to be safe!"

The rattling of the machine in the sky started slowly moving towards them. He could pick up subtle noises of probable vehicles closing in on them as well.

No time for careful preparation.

He quickly grabbed the gun left by _Steve_ and then reached for another one, that stumbled under his foot. Pure luck!Luck?

„Can you run?"

„Y-yes! But not as fast as you!" Said a bit more self-assured man.

He reached towards startled Steve and put his right hand on his fleshy, right arm.

„W-What?!" The man hissed.

„Are you hurt?"

„Your metal hand is cold. And my wrist just started hurting."

„No time now. I don't know the area. Which direction do you recommend?"

„Um…-mh… We were driving east so, I guess the military compound is somewhere behind you now. .. Damnit! I guess that way is just the forest or some road!"

„Hold on to my arm and follow."

Escort mission. Rare. Escort status: VIP. No military training.

 _Steve_.

Keep maximum distance form any kind of risk. Engage in combat only if no other solution. Minimum exposure.

Their run was more like a walk for him. He was not happy, but escorts always were his least favorite. It always made him feel like on a shooting range and he was a dummy.

Visibility was not that bad, the moon was bright enough. They kept on making rustling noises and that was unavoidable with himself being compromised and…. _Steve_ … being… _Steve_.

„ _Steve_."

„That's my name..."

Silence.

They kept on moving away from the noises of the chase. He could hear faint shots quite far. Possible conflict of two unknown forces. Good.

Leave the area. Hopefully no other chopper will be sent. Or dogs…

They passed a gentle hill. About one hundred thirty meters forward… Terrain started going down and a change in the air signalized a civilization nearby. Moss, branches and forest bugs kept on biting his bare feet but he ignored these sensations. Steve's hand still clenched onto his bodily arm. _Steve wasn't as weak as he remembered..._

A running engine. A car light blinking between the trees in the distance.

„Aaaah!" The soldier stumbled.

A sudden, tearing pain in his neck and spine made him collapse onto his knees. Both guns hit the ground.

„Asset! Oh my god!"

Steve felt exhausted by the run and drop in the adrenaline. But now another rush got him.

„ _Steve_..." Groaned the Asset, crouching on the ground.

„That's me! Are you hurt?"

He felt _caring_ hands grabbing his shoulders. The man was just next to him.

„Are you hurt?!"

„ _Steve_ … The drugs. Drugs they gave me… Nervous system compromised. Mobility 46%."

„Oh shit.. Oh god! Oh god! We're fucked!"

He felt _Steve's_ palm wondering on his forehead. Just like… _back then._

„You're hot like hell! They really almost killed you. I'm so sorry..."

„You're not like I… remember..." He whispered and before Steve could reply, the Asset dropped onto the ground.


End file.
